Today marks the beginning of National Careers Week which celebrates the value of careers education, lifelong learning and the opportunities for everyone to discover fulfilling pathways.

Careers education provides students with the job-ready skills and industry connections to take on future-focused careers. It can take on multiple forms, including pathway programs, school-based apprenticeships and traineeships, taste-tester workshops and careers expos.

Across NSW, there are over 800 careers and transitions advisers in public schools who are helping set up students for post-school success.

One of the state’s careers advisers is Dungog High School’s (on Gringai land), Anne Middlebrook, who shared a snapshot of a what it’s like shaping students’ futures.

What are your best tips and advice for young people?

Students should take up any opportunity that comes their way while they are attending school. They are so many programs and opportunities provided, and it is an excellent way to narrow down the students’ interests, plus helps build their skills.

What trends have you noticed in students’ career decisions?

Students are more aware and acknowledge that their learning is lifelong and continuous. They are looking for opportunities for growth and development.

What do you think is an untapped sector/industry for students to consider?

Agriculture technology: technology is changing so many traditional practices within the industry.

In addition, due to an ageing population, more career pathways are going to arise in the aged care and disability field.

How has career education evolved over the years?

I think many students put more emphasis on work-based learning and are looking for opportunities with practical experiences. Many students look at their education as an ‘individual pursuit’ tailoring opportunities to suit their own pathway and goals.

Additionally, students now demonstrate more awareness of the diverse career pathways available to them.

Why do you love your job?

I love my role because each day brings unique challenges and opportunities. No two days are ever the same due to the diversity of interactions with students presenting varied questions, perspectives, and problems.

I am continually learning and adapting, which is both stimulating and rewarding.

Helping students navigate their individual pathway and supporting their growth and development makes my work meaningful, and I find great satisfaction in making a positive difference in their lives. I also love working with colleagues in different roles, external agencies and our local community.

For Sydney based careers adviser, Shweta Sharma, who works with students at Doonside Technology High School,(on Dharug Land), National Careers Week is an opportunity to celebrate what students might become and reflect on how schools are actively shaping the journey that gets them there.

What are your best tips and advice for young people?

Start with self-awareness: know your strengths and values before you chase a job title.

Explore early: hands-on experience in vocational education and training (VET) placements, work experience, and volunteering will teach you more than any amount of online research.

Use your school's VET options strategically: they offer nationally recognised qualifications without debt, and they open doors that many students do not realise exist.

Balance your study with real-world experience.

Most careers are not linear. That is not a problem, and it is the reality of modern working life, and the students who understand that early are already ahead.

What trends have you noticed in students’ career decisions?

The trends I have observed over recent years give me real cause for optimism.

By the end of Stage 5, students who are not pursuing strong academic pathways are arriving at a point of genuine employment readiness with clarity, confidence, and a direction. This is the result of deliberate exposure through work experience programs that do far more than tick a box. Students return from work experience changed. They understand professional expectations, they have tested their interests against reality, and they have something concrete to build on.

I have also noticed a meaningful and exciting surge in female student participation in trade courses, particularly VET Construction and Manufacturing and Engineering. These students are not just enrolling; they are thriving. This shift reflects a broader cultural change, and it is one that aligns perfectly with where industry demand is heading.

And then there is AI. Rather than anxiety, I am seeing our students engage with artificial intelligence and its role in the workforce with a serious, open, and curious mindset.

What do you think is an untapped sector/industry for students to consider?

If I were to point students towards one underexplored sector right now, it would be climate-tech, specifically energy efficiency systems, waste management tools, and emissions reporting solutions for small businesses.

This sector sits at the intersection of regulation, cost savings, and genuine market demand. Students do not need to invent something revolutionary to contribute. They need problem-solving skills and a practical mindset.

How has career education evolved over the years?

Not long ago, career guidance meant sitting down with a student in their final year, pointing at a subject selection guide, and hoping for the best. It was reactive, late-stage, and largely a one-off event. The question on the table was simple: what job should you do?

That question has changed, and rightly so. Modern career education asks something far more powerful: what skills, interests, and pathways suit you, and how do you adapt over time?

Why do you love your job?

I love this job because I get to help young people see options they may not have believed were open to them.

Many of our students arrive without a clear map of what is possible and a good careers adviser can change that. Not by handing them a list of jobs, but by helping them understand themselves, connecting them with real experiences, and building the kind of confidence that turns "I can't" into "I can try."

Seeing a student walk into a VET placement uncertain of themselves, and walk out with a qualification, a professional connection, and a genuine sense of direction is why I do this.

Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan, said National Careers Week was a great time to explore pathways and careers and thanked mentors like Anne and Shweta.

“This National Careers Week we’re celebrating the value of professional growth, lifelong learning, and the opportunities for everyone to discover fulfilling career pathways,” Mr Whan said.

“Thank you to our career and transition advisers, teachers and trainers who are nurturing curiosity, enabling career advancement and empowering people to have rewarding careers.”